Christ is risen. Christ is risen indeed?

Today is resurrection Sunday. In mainline Christian churches one chorus will be pronounced again and again on this day: "Christ is risen. Christ is risen indeed." And yet, I wonder if we even understand what that means. Vast numbers of Christian churches in America have taken to worshipping Jesus OVER God and have lost sight of the Trinity and of Jesus' actual mission on earth--reforming Judaism and pointing back to God. That's the mission that got him crucified but we obscured that mission with a belief that his sole purpose was to come to die and be resurrected.

Martin Luther sought to reform the Catholic church more than 500 years ago. In his work, Complete Sermons, he suggests that we are "little Christs." So, today, I would suggest that this day we should think about what it means for us to be resurrected in our spiritual journeys so that we can live as little Christs.

What does that mean in practicality? Recently, I saw a social media post that suggested our nation is "going to hell" and that we need Jesus to return. I scrolled past but I didn't stop thinking about it. 'What if Jesus' return is really about recognizing the little Christs within us? What if living as little Christs is what was meant by the "kingdom of heaven on earth?" Are we really "going to hell" or is this time of great conflict and separation actually a time of opportunity? Could it be an opportunity to realize that God is not some being outside of ourselves but is operative in our own hearts?

In my own spiritual journey, I have come to realize the power of fear. I've always known that fear is the driver behind the efforts that support hierarchical structures. It is the driver behind one person being controlling over another person. It is the driver--often--behind the beliefs to which we bind ourselves that limit goodness in our lives. But, I had not stopped to realize that my own anger, reprimand, judgment, shame, worry, and lack of forgiveness are representative of fear driving my behavior. That fear is a failure to be a little Christ. The scripture tells us that God is love. If I am an aspect of God as that little Christ phrase suggests, then I can have no fear--no control, no anger, no reprimand, no judgment of others, no shame or sense that I am not good enough, and no worry. I have to have love.

That love means that I must trust the knowing inside of me--in my gut and in my heart. I must forgive myself and others and yield respect for EVERYONE--even those with whom I disagree while trusting God's still small voice that exists within my soul. It means that I must understand that you and I are inextricably connected. We are not separate.

Einstein is credited with saying, "insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result." That seems to be what we are doing in many ways in America. This past week, we did it again. We keep having the same arguments over gun control and engaging in separation. One group says we need gun control while another argues vehemently that we must protect second amendment rights to bear arms. There are seemingly quiet voices that say, "perhaps, we should consider mental health." I've yet to hear one voice say, "perhaps we should consider our spiritual health--the fact that we are controlled by our own fears, distrustful of the divine aspect in us." So, I will say it. What if each one of us needs to take a long hard look at our spiritual lives? What if we need to examine where are we in fear? What if we need to point the fingers back at ourselves? Where we are in fear, God is not there. Where we are in fear, love is not there. Where we are in fear, we have separation . . . we have expulsion of others from their roles . . . we have mentally unstable people who cry out for help but somehow wind up waving guns . . . we have fingers pointing at everyone but ourselves. We have death instead of unity in life.

Many are the issues where we are divided--just as the Jews were in Jesus' day. Many are the differences to which we cling to keep us separated. We hide within our own tombs--sometimes called houses, sometimes called our weapons, sometimes called our emotions--but always called fear. Today, the invitation exists for us to realize. It is resurrection Sunday. It is our day to be resurrected. Christ is risen. Can the little Christs in us be risen indeed?